on stealing moments

And the grumpiest babies will exhaust, nay, enervate their mothers and floors shall always hoard crumbs and  and and AND.  Mixed in with the wealth of goodness and endless joys are the crazy makers of life, it’s a fine balance that needs to be kept, it requires one to become a master of stealing moments.

Because tomorrow when we wake up the floors and whining and the  army of “ands” will still exist, while magic may happen everyday so does its counterpart.  None of this will change.

So, at the end of the whiniest day, a new chair calls from the green grass speckled with weeds.  It sits under the charming and interesting branches of a cluster of trees.  Especially that one branch straight out of a great novel. The air is full of tiny white puffs floating and swaying in the springtime air.  Leaves rustle and birds serenade. 

A cup of tea steams and succumbs to the direction of the wind.  The sun begins to sink and wash across the green  stretch one last time.  Brilliant words of a book fill you with reverie and you want to read them to anyone who will listen, but the squirrels show no interest, so you read them aloud to the breeze, perhaps they will be carried and land upon eager ears, but if not, they seep into your soul. 

The sky brews a stronger shade of vibrant as the keeper of light descends, leaving those who will notice with a mesmerizing and momentary piece of art.  Tonight it’s the softest blush.

And by stealing this moment, each breath feels lighter, the tougher parts release their grip, because tomorrow will be brand new and God knew to make babies extra cute for the most frazzling days. 

All of it, this is life and we must stop wishing away the hard, instead, we must steal the moments that renew and refresh.  We must become zealous in our pursuits to fill the reservoirs. 

Perhaps stealing is a poor choice of words, because these glimpses of beauty and sweet life-giving air belong to us all.  And in the name of sanity, we must claim them or be swallowed into the heavy world, where they go forever ignored.

Sweet aroma rises from my cup.  Trees turn into shadows against the sky.  The melody to the song of the birds changes.  A chill sweeps across my shoulder.  This moment for today and new mercies tomorrow.

 

Just Write-  a group of brilliant people who take steal moments with words.

a tasty bit of grace

The day had been a  long one, heavy in the waiting and trusting, noisy in the kid department.  The kind where your energy drains faster because you are holding on to promises with all your might.

Lots of long stares into the cupboards, mostly bare, but not completely.  Lots of turned up ugly faces at the can goods and other random items, I guess to let them know how much you wish they were deep dish meat covered, cheesy pizzas instead.  Living within ones means can be a challenge and a battle of self-control at times. 

Oatmeal for dinner.

And we all sit around the table, reluctantly eating this gourmet meal, husband and I exchanging hopeful glances that could fill novels.  The baby foodie is grabbing at my bowl, as I’m breaking my rule of not holding kids while I eat.  The little boy is snacking on raisins.  Wooden Misters Elemant (Elephant) and Lion King (Lion) are walking across the table towards me.  Clip clop. Clip Clop.

“Hi Mama, Hi.  Hi Lion King. Hi Elemant. Bye.”

They march across the table in the opposite direction.

“Hi Daddy, Hi.  Hi Lion King. Hi Elemant.  Bye.”

A smile wipes across the daddy’s face.  A sparkle glows in the little boys eyes.

They march back across the table.

“Hi Mama, Hi. ”

And before he can get the rest out, my eyes catch the daddy’s and we laugh, the kind of laugh that melts away heaviness. A joyful batch of tears well up in my eyes. The sparkle grows brighter and he laughs too. Baby girl squeals. 

This is the most delicious part of the meal.

“Someday we’ll miss this” he said.  “Miss what?” I ask and he answers,  “being broke.”  (I don’t know if we will, but I wrote it down just in case.)

a scoop of thankful

• cool breezy mornings
• espresso
• weekend dinner with friends, complete with pots de crème and coffee
• lazy weekends of movies
• a stack of fabric waiting for me
• a few sneaky leaves changing into their fall attire
• quiet moments before the kids wake up, something I want to be  better at doing.
• new books coming in the mail
• exciting new products coming to the shop very soon
• a heaping plate of homemade coconut shrimp
• a giant pot of homemade meatballs

 

what about you?

gratitude

• lovely lunches with my brothers and sisters on a Sunday afternoon
• sunshine streaming through the windows
• little boys playing in the yard
• watching the grass come alive, so green
• babies who sleep and quiet nights with my love at the end of long day
• fresh out of bedhead babies, silly silly
• sweet morning smiles
• a hard-working husband who loves God and his family
• A God who lives and saves and loves and leads and is.

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• morning espresso and homemade nutella on toast
• a home, food, comfort, shelter, provisions
• friends who make you laugh
• the gift of creativity from a creative maker
• books that move and inspire.
• joyous news of friends and their new babies
• wonderful news from friends who feared loss but found unbelievable joy instead
• ability to trust your heart
• dark chocolate with sea salt
• meaning and purpose
• two year olds who still want to hold your hand

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• the privilege of being a mommy, even when it’s hard
• cultivating a happy, healthy, functional marriage and family
• the last bit if ice melting from the lake, glory!
• dreams, plans, ideas, inspiration
• the combination of eggs and hummus, a revelation
• Saturday afternoons with my sister baking, good cheese, pastries and French music
• the gift of today

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Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. – Sarah Ban Breathbach

What are you thankful for?

in thanks #2

For this I am thankful:

• clean drinking water
• my baby boy who is unfortunately sick, but fast asleep on my chest, so I can kiss the top of his head approx. 1,002 times.
• the brilliant fall colors outside my window
• a re-arranged living room, I like change.
• renewed creativity

Operation: Thankful Living

Now that Halloween is over and the red cups are back at Starbucks, that means it's officially the most wonderful time of the year... and I adore these holidays and I am very serious about celebrating them.  I'm also very serious about celebrating life even when it's not Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Around blog world, I've seen lots of thankfulness project things, so I'm jumping on board, because it never ever hurts to be thankful. It's one trend that can never go out of style.  I mean, we have so much, so many blessings, so very much, even when we might not have everything.  So, for the month of November, I'm going to attempt to share a few things that I'm thankful for each day.  Afterwards, I'll collect them and then share on a regular basis.  I want to live a life of gratefulness.  How are you going live with more gratitude?  I'd love to hear your ideas.

Today I'm thankful for...

• Spending a calm day at home after two weeks of traveling, six flights, two ten hour drives, and four (1st) birthday parties.
• Grilled sausage, eggplant, onion, pepper sandwiches.
• Thursday is homemade pizza night, Hawaiian tonight's pizza of choice.
•  An amazing husband who turned thirty today.
• Playing a racing game on the Xbox, that I instead made into a game where you crash into anything and everything as fast as you can.  You have no idea how excited I get about that!!
• Our apartment, that isn't exactly my dream house, but it's cozy, clean,  comfortable, and it's where I spend my life with my delightful little family.
• Watching Hudson jump and climb all over his daddy as they play on the floor.
• Cheesecake pie for the birthday dessert.
• And of course, The Office.

Your turn.

Happy 100th.

It's my 100th post here at The Saturated Palette, by the way, I got the name from something I read in Domino magazine... oh Domino, rest in peace. Quickly moving back to happy thoughts, here. I started this blog on January 18, 2008. I'm not sure anyone read it then, but that didn't matter. 1.5 years later, I'm still not sure anyone reads it, but it's not a popularity contest, I take pleasure in sharing my thoughts, projects, and inspirations. I'm a writer. I'm not sure that the 100th post is such a huge monument, but television shows always go all out for the big 100th episodes, and that usually takes five seasons. So, there's that.

To celebrate for the sake of celebrating, I have been thinking an awful lot today about one of the people who helps make my dreams possible, who enriches my existence, and after just a few short years, I'm quite certain that I'd never want to be without him, my Matthew.

My Matthew is one of those rare gentlemen with the kindest soul and he truly, legitimately cares about people. {Sometimes, I think he makes me look bad, because he emanates kindness and patience, two things which I don't always feel are my strong point, if I'm being honest.} He is a wonderful man of God, leader of our family, and naturally, my best friend. I used to think people were stupid when they said that their husband was their best friend, but now I get it. That's what he is.

He is an unbelievable father, so loving, so fun, and always right besides me, when the whole parenting thing gets overwhelming. He is adventurous, a dreamer, and a hard worker with a servant's heart. He is funny most of the time, but sometimes, he's not. I always like to point that out and he pretends to be upset. It's cute. He doesn't worry about being in the spotlight, but if you are interested, he has some really great thoughts to share. He is a peaceful person, we are peaceful together, and I love that about us. He finds contentment in our current state of life, but will never settle for mediocre. He's determined, as am I, to live within our means.

He puts up with me talking all about Grey's Anatomy, as if Meredith and Derek are real people I see all the time and he calms me down, assuring me that Rachel will, in fact get off the plane, but he will always roll his eyes. If something moves me to tears, happy, sad, or inspiring, he doesn't always share my strong sentiment for it, but he allows me to explain my inherent desire for him to understand just how it touched me. (He calls me dramatic, I am.) He sometimes laughs at me about how clean I like to keep our home, but I know he appreciates it. Oh, and he handles my crazy family rather well.

He is a morning person, he understands that I am not. So, when he can, he will take the baby and let me sleep for a few hours longer and I usually wake up to the lovely smell of coffee in the french press, too. He makes the best breakfasts and sandwiches. He knows I strongly dislike running to the store for something, so he gladly will go. If we are in the car, he always drives, I like that. I'm not that interested in driving. He always opens my car door. Also, about twice a week, I can't stand the idea of doing the dishes and every dish we own is filthy, he doesn't mind helping me with that. (Wow, he does a lot).

One of the best things about him is that he supports all of my dreams and creative musings. He encourages me to paint, read, write, bake, sew, create, or even take time for myself. He's awesome. He dreams with me about our future and believes that we will see those dreams come to pass.

I could write a novel about how much he means to me and how much he has changed my life, about how I was so independent before him and now I am lost at the idea of doing certain things without him. However, I'll save that. There are just two more things that I must share.

1. We have family coming into town on Monday. Yesterday, he spent 1 hour cleaning the bathroom, and I mean, he cleaned it. I think it might have even sparkled. I'm not sure I've ever cleaned it that well. He didn't have to, but he did, while I cleaned, dusted, and vacuumed. That's impressive.

2. This morning, instead of splurging on Saturday AM donuts, he made blueberry muffins from scratch, no out of the box mix here! Usually, I'm the baker, but he did it. Talk about delicious, they even had the sugar & cinnamon crumbles on top.

I know, he's a keeper. And the thing is, with all that he does, he doesn't seek recognition or praise, he does it because he cares and he knows how to show it. His character is displayed in his actions and words, a truly invaluable treasure.

I know there are many great husbands out there, but this one is mine and I plan on keeping him and growing old together. Society has downplayed the importance of strong husbands and fathers, but they make such a difference. It's necessary to take time to honor them and acknowledge all they do. Sure, they can leave dirty socks laying around and somehow don't hear the baby crying during the early hours of the morning, but that's silliness really, in light of all the good. It seems more common to focus on each other's faults, when we would all be better off for pointing out more good than bad.

What I'm really trying to say is this. I'm blessed and so thankful for my husband. I couldn't ask for a better partner in my life or a better father for my son. I love my husband, madly.

Readers, I hope you find as much blessings, joy, and richness in your lives, in the people around you and those you hold dear.